Multi-media communication device

ABSTRACT

An LED illumination device is configured to receive coded messages by at least one of radio signals in free space, electrically conducted signals by wire, and light wave propagated signals in free space, process the coded messages, and transmit the coded messages by two or more of radio signals in free space, electrically conducted signals by wire, and light wave propagated signals in free space.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE TO ANY PRIORITY APPLICATIONS

Any and all applications for which a foreign or domestic priority claimis identified in the Application Data Sheet, or any correction thereto,are hereby incorporated by reference under 37 CFR 1.57.

BACKGROUND

This disclosure relates to the field of electrical lighting sources andmore particularly to replaceable light bulb devices using light emittingdiodes (LEDs) and further relates to the use of illumination devices totransceive messages without the use of a network controller.

Communication among low-cost devices is useful in many applications. Forexample, in a home environment, room occupancy sensors, light switches,lamps, lamp dimmers, and a gateway to the Internet can all work togetherif they are in communication. A room in a home could be illuminated whenpeople are present, or else an alarm could be sounded, depending onconditions established by a program running on a remote computer.

In addition, current LED illumination sources are either non-dimmable oruse expensive and inefficient phase angle detection to provide dimming.Dimming levels are determined by the analog phase angle of the choppedsine wave that can vary depending on the alternating current voltage(VAC) powering the lighting circuit, the power line frequency, and thetemperature of the individual illumination source. As a result, eachillumination source in a bank of illumination sources, although drivenfrom the same phase angle dimmer, may have a different brightness.Further, current illumination sources are inefficient because they storeenergy during the chopped phases of the main power's alternatingcurrent. The large components required to store the energy createundesirable physical dimensions for LED illumination sources.

SUMMARY

LED lighting devices communicate over a communication network using oneor more communication mediums to increase the likelihood that messageswill be received by the intended recipient. Messages can be sent overthe powerline, via radio frequency (RF), and via light modulation of thelight emitted from LEDs associated with the LED lighting device.

In addition, communications sent over the network using one or more ofpowerline messaging, RF messaging, and light modulation messaging cancontrol LED lighting devices. In an embodiment, a dimming feature of theLED lighting device is controlled.

Certain embodiments relate to a method to transmit and receive messagesover a network. The method comprises receiving coded messages withelectrical circuitry disposed within an enclosure of an illuminationdevice by at least one of radio signals in free space and electricallyconducted signals by wire, processing the coded messages with theelectrical circuitry disposed within the enclosure of the illuminationdevice, and transmitting the coded messages with the electricalcircuitry disposed within the enclosure of the illumination device by atleast one of the radio signals in free space and the electricallyconducted signals by wire. In an embodiment, the enclosure comprises abulb and a base, and the electrical circuitry is disposed within thebase.

In an embodiment, the method further comprises receiving the codedmessages with the electrical circuitry disposed within the enclosure ofthe illumination device by at least one of the radio signals in freespace, the electrically conducted signals by wire, and light wavepropagated signals in free space, and transmitting the coded messageswith the electrical circuitry disposed within the enclosure of theillumination device by all of the radio signals in free space, theelectrically conducted signals by wire, and the light wave propagatedsignals in free space.

In an embodiment, the method further comprises determining whether radiosignal message traffic exceeds a threshold, and when the threshold isexceeded, reducing the radio signal message traffic while continuing totransmit by the electrically conducted signals by wire. In anotherembodiment, the method further comprises determining whether radiosignal message traffic exceeds a threshold, and when the threshold isexceeded, reducing the radio signal message traffic while continuing totransmit by at least one of the electrically conducted signals by wireand the light wave propagated signals in free space. In a furtherembodiment, the coded messages transmitted by the electrically conductedsignals by wire and the coded messages transmitted by the light wavepropagated signals in free space use the same carrier signal frequencyand the same encoding protocol.

In a yet further embodiment, the method further comprises determiningwhether the coded message has been transmitted by a first communicationmedium comprising at least one of the radio signals in free space andthe electrically conducted signals by wire, determining if anacknowledgement of the coded message by an intended recipient has beenreceived after transmitting the coded message by the first communicationmedium, and if the acknowledgement has not been received, transmittingthe coded message by a second communication medium comprising at leastone of the radio signals in free space and the electrically conductedsignals by wire. In another embodiment, the method further comprisesdetermining if the acknowledgement of the coded message by the intendedrecipient has been received after transmitting the coded message by thesecond communication medium, and if the acknowledgement has not beenreceived, transmitting the coded message by a third communication mediumcomprising at least one of the radio signals in free space, theelectrically conducted signals by wire, and light wave propagatedsignals in free space.

In accordance with various embodiment, an illumination device capable ofilluminating a space and further capable of reacting to and transmittingmessages is disclosed. The illumination device comprises an enclosure,receiving circuitry disposed with the enclosure and configured toreceive coded messages by at least one of radio signals in free spaceand electrically conducted signals by wire, processing circuitrydisposed within the enclosure and configured to process the codedmessages, and transmitting circuitry disposed within the enclosure andconfigured to transmit the coded messages by at least one of the radiosignals in free space and the electrically conducted signals by wire. Inan embodiment, the enclosure comprises a bulb and a base, and thereceiving circuitry, the processing circuitry, and the transmittingcircuitry are disposed within the base.

In an embodiment, the receiving circuitry is further configured toreceive the coded messages by at least one of the radio signals in freespace, the electrically conducted signals by wire, and light wavepropagated signals in free space and the transmitting circuitry isfurther configured to transmit the coded messages by all of the radiosignals in free space, the electrically conducted signals by wire, andthe light wave propagated signals in free space. In another embodiment,the coded messages transmitted by the electrically conducted signals andthe coded messages transmitted by the light wave propagated signals infree space use the same carrier signal frequency and the same encodingprotocol.

In an embodiment, the processing circuitry is further configured todetermine whether radio signal message traffic exceeds a threshold, andwhen the threshold is exceeded, reduce the radio signal message trafficwhile continuing to transmit by the electrically conducted signals bywire.

In another embodiment, the illumination device further comprises powerline circuitry disposed within the enclosure and configured toelectrically conduct the coded messages over a power line wire, andradio frequency (RF) circuitry disposed within the enclosure andconfigured to receive and transmit the coded messages using the radiosignals in free space. In yet another embodiment the illumination devicefurther comprises light wave modulation/demodulation circuitry disposedwithin the enclosure and configured to receive and transmit the codedmessages using light wave propagated signals in free space. In a furtherembodiment, the enclosure comprises a bulb and a base, the powerlinecircuitry, the radio frequency circuitry, and the light wavemodulation/demodulation circuitry are disposed within the base.

In an embodiment, the processing circuitry is further configured todetermine whether the coded message has been transmitted by a firstcommunication medium comprising at least one of the radio signals infree space and the electrically conducted signals by wire, determine ifan acknowledgement of the coded message by an intended recipient hasbeen received after transmitting the coded message by the firstcommunication medium, and if the acknowledgement has not been received,transmit the coded message by a second communication medium comprisingat least one of the radio signals in free space and the electricallyconducted signals by wire. In an embodiment, the processing circuitry isfurther configured to determine whether message traffic for theelectrically conducted signals by wire exceeds a threshold, and when thethreshold is exceeded, transmit the coded message by the electricallyconducted signals by wire.

Certain embodiments relate to a method to transmit and receive messagesover a network. The method comprises receiving coded messages by atleast one of radio signals in free space, electrically conducted signalsby wire, and light wave propagated signals in free space, processing thecoded messages, and transmitting the coded messages by all of the radiosignals in free space, the electrically conducted signals by wire, andthe light wave propagated signals in free space.

In an embodiment, the method further comprises determining whether radiosignal message traffic exceeds a threshold, and when the threshold isexceeded, reducing the radio signal message traffic while continuing totransmit by the electrically conducted signals by wire and the lightwave propagated signals in free space. In another embodiment, the methodfurther comprises determining whether radio signal message trafficexceeds a threshold, and when the threshold is exceeded, preventingdevices from transmitting the coded messages by the radio signals infree space while continuing to transmit by the electrically conductedsignals by wire and the light wave propagated signals in free space.

In a further embodiment, the coded messages transmitted by theelectrically conducted signals and the coded messages transmitted by thelight wave propagated signals in free space use the same carrier signalfrequency and the same encoding protocol. In an embodiment, the carriersignal frequency is between approximately 100 KHz to approximately 200KHz and the encoding protocol comprises binary phase shift keying(BPSK).

In another embodiment, the method further comprises determining whetherthe coded message has been transmitted by a first communication mediumcomprising at least one of the radio signals in free space, theelectrically conducted signals by wire, and the light wave propagatedsignals in free space, determining if an acknowledgement of the codedmessage by an intended recipient has been received after transmittingthe coded message by the first communication medium, and if theacknowledgement has not been received, transmitting the coded message bya second communication medium comprising at least one of the radiosignals in free space, the electrically conducted signals by wire, andthe light wave propagated signals in free space. The method furthercomprises determining if the acknowledgement of the coded message by theintended recipient has been received after transmitting the codedmessage by the second communication medium, and if the acknowledgementhas not been received, transmitting the coded message by a thirdcommunication medium comprising at least one of the radio signals infree space, the electrically conducted signals by wire, and the lightwave propagated signals in free space.

In accordance with various embodiments, an electrical circuit capable ofilluminating a space and further capable of reacting to and transmittingmessages is disclosed. The electrical circuit comprises receivingcircuitry configured to receive coded messages by at least one of radiosignals in free space, electrically conducted signals by wire, and lightwave propagated signals in free space, processing circuitry configuredto process the coded messages, and transmitting circuitry configured totransmit the coded messages by all of the radio signals in free space,the electrically conducted signals by wire, and the light wavepropagated signals in free space. The electrical circuit furthercomprises power line circuitry configured to electrically conduct thecoded messages over a power line wire, radio frequency (RF) circuitryconfigured to receive and transmit the coded messages using the radiosignals in free space, and light wave modulation/demodulation circuitryconfigured to receive and transmit the coded messages using the lightwave propagated signals in free space, where the light wavemodulation/demodulation circuitry comprises an optical sensor, an arrayof one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs), and an LED driver.

In an embodiment, the processing circuitry is further configured todetermine whether message traffic for the electrically conducted signalsby wire exceeds a threshold, and when the threshold is exceeded, onlytransmit the coded message by the light wave propagated signals in freespace.

For purposes of summarizing the disclosure, certain aspects, advantagesand novel features of the inventions have been described herein. It isto be understood that not necessarily all such advantages may beachieved in accordance with any particular embodiment of the invention.Thus, the invention may be embodied or carried out in a manner thatachieves or optimizes one advantage or group of advantages as taughtherein without necessarily achieving other advantages as may be taughtor suggested herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a communication network with devices usingpowerline, RF signaling, and light modulation signaling, according tocertain embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an LED illumination module with powerline,RF, and light modulation signaling capabilities, according to certainembodiments.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating message retransmission within thecommunication network, according to certain embodiments.

FIG. 4A illustrates a process to receive messages within thecommunication network, according to certain embodiments.

FIG. 4B illustrates a process to retransmit messages within thecommunication network, according to certain embodiments.

FIG. 4C illustrates a process to determine by which transmission mediumto retransmit messages based on network traffic, according to certainembodiments.

FIG. 5 illustrates a process to transmit messages to groups of deviceswithin the communication network, according to certain embodiments.

FIG. 6 illustrates a process to transmit direct messages with retries todevices within the communication network, according to certainembodiments.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an LED illumination device illustrating theoverall flow of information related to sending and receiving messages,according to certain embodiments.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating the overall flow of informationrelated to transmitting messages on the powerline, according to certainembodiments.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating the overall flow of informationrelated to receiving messages from the powerline, according to certainembodiments.

FIG. 10 illustrates a powerline BPSK signal, according to certainembodiments.

FIG. 11 illustrates a powerline BPSK signal with transition smoothing,according to certain embodiments.

FIG. 12 illustrates powerline signaling applied to the powerline,according to certain embodiments.

FIG. 13 illustrates standard message packets applied to the powerline,according to certain embodiments.

FIG. 14 illustrates extended message packets applied to the powerline,according to certain embodiments.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating the overall flow of informationrelated to transmitting messages via RF, according to certainembodiments.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating the overall flow of informationrelated to receiving messages via RF, according to certain embodiments.

FIG. 17 is a table of exemplary specifications for RF signaling withinthe communication network, according to certain embodiments.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram illustrating the overall flow of informationrelated to transmitting messages via modulation of light from an LEDillumination device, according to certain embodiments.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram illustrating the overall flow of informationrelated to receiving messages via modulation of light from an LEDillumination device, according to certain embodiments.

FIGS. 20A and 20B are an exemplary schematic diagram of an LEDillumination device capable of transmitting and receiving messages overthe communication network via powerline signaling, RF, and modulation oflight, according to certain embodiments.

FIG. 21 illustrates an illumination device capable of transmitting andreceiving messages over the communication network via powerlinesignaling, RF, and modulation of light, according to certainembodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The features of the systems and methods will now be described withreference to the drawings summarized above. Throughout the drawings,reference numbers are re-used to indicate correspondence betweenreferenced elements. The drawings, associated descriptions, and specificimplementation are provided to illustrate embodiments of the inventionsand not to limit the scope of the disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a communication network 100 of control andcommunication devices 112-126 communicating over the network 100 usingone or more of powerline signaling, RF signaling, and light modulationsignaling. In an embodiment, the communication network 100 comprises amesh network. In another embodiment, the communication network 100comprises a simulcast mesh network. In a further embodiment, thecommunication network comprises a mesh network including a powerlinenetwork, and light modulation network.

Electrical power is most commonly distributed to buildings and homes inNorth America as two-phase 220-volt alternating current (220 VAC). Atthe main junction box to the building, the three-wire 220 VAC power lineis split into two two-wire 110 VAC power lines, known as Phase 1 andPhase 2. Phase 1 wiring is typically used for half the circuits in thebuilding, and Phase 2 is used for the other half. In the exemplarynetwork 100, devices 112, 114, 116, 118, 120 are connected to a Phase 1power line 110 and devices 122, 124, 126, are connected to a Phase 2power line 128.

In network 100, device 112 is configured to communicate over the powerline; device 126 is configured to communicate via RF; and devices 116and 124 are configured to communicate over the powerline and via RF.Additionally device 116 can be configured to communicate to a computer130 and other digital equipment using, for example, RS232, USB, andEthernet protocols and communication hardware. Device 116 on the network100 communicating with computer 130 and other digital devices can, forexample, bridge to networks of otherwise incompatible devices in abuilding, connect to computers, act as nodes on a local-area network(LAN), or get onto the global Internet.

Devices 114, 118, 120, 122 comprise light emitting diode (LED) lightingdevices and are configured to communicate over the power line, via RF,and using modulated light techniques.

In an embodiment, devices, such as devices 112, 114, 116, 118, 120, 122,124 that send and receive messages over the power line, use the Insteon®Powerline protocol, and devices, such as devices 114, 116, 118, 120,122, 124, 126 that send and receive radio frequency (RF) messages, usethe Insteon® RF protocol, as defined in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,345,998 and8,081649 which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in theirentireties. INSTEON® is a trademark of the applicant.

LED lighting devices 114, 118, 120, 122 send messages using modulationof the light emitted from the devices' LED and received modulated lightencoded messages.

FIG. 21 illustrates an illumination device 200, such as an LEDillumination device or module, and incandescent illumination device, afluorescent illumination device, and the like. The illumination device200 comprises an enclosure including a bulb 202 and a base 203. In anembodiment, the bulb 202 comprises glass, plastic, or other transparentor translucent material capable of emitting light waves from anillumination source, such as an LED array, a filament, or the like,within the enclosure. The base 203 attaches to the bulb and to a powersource used to power the illumination source. For example, the bulb 203can comprise threads for screwing the bulb into a standard light bulbsocket electrically connected to 110-120 VAC house wiring.

The illumination device 200 further comprises electrical circuitry 201disposed with the enclosure, as indicated by the dashed box. In anembodiment, the electrical circuitry 201 is configured to receive codedmessages, process coded messages, and transmit coded messages. Inanother embodiment, the electrical circuitry 201 comprises at least oneof receiving circuitry, processing circuitry, and transmittingcircuitry. In a further embodiment, the electrical circuitry 201comprises at least one of power line circuitry, radio frequencycircuitry, and light wave modulation/demodulation circuitry.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the electrical circuitry 201 disposedwithin the enclosure of the illumination device 200 comprising powerline(PL), RF, and light modulation signaling capabilities. The electricalcircuitry 201 comprises a processor 210, a power supply 212, powerlinecommunication circuitry 214, RF communication circuitry 220, and lightmodulation circuitry 224.

Power Supply

The power supply 212 receives a 110 VAC power signal over the power line236 and generates one or more voltages, such as 20 VDC, 3.3 VDC, 3.0VDC, for example, to power the circuitry 210, 214, 220, 224. In otherembodiments, the power supply 212 converts the line voltage to otherdirect current voltage and transforms the line voltage to otheralternating current voltages as need by the accompanying circuitry 210,214, 220, 224. In an embodiment, the power supply components comprise ahigh efficiency mains or power line voltage to communications drive andlogic level voltages via a buck regulator two-stage supply. In anembodiment, the power supply 212 uses full wave rectification to takeadvantage of the energy of both the positive and negative portions ofthe AC supply.

Processor

The processor circuitry 210 provides program logic and memory 234 insupport of programs and intelligence within the LED lighting device 200,as well as bulb functions, such as dimming, ON, and OFF. The programlogic may advantageously be implemented as one or more modules. Themodules may advantageously be configured to execute on one or moreprocessors. The modules may comprise, but are not limited to, any of thefollowing: software or hardware components such as softwareobject-oriented software components, class components and taskcomponents, processes methods, functions, attributes, procedures,subroutines, segments of program code, drivers, firmware, microcode,circuitry, data, databases, data structures, tables, arrays, orvariables.

In an embodiment, the processor circuitry 220 comprises a computer andassociated memory. The computers comprise, by way of example,processors, program logic, or other substrate configurationsrepresenting data and instructions, which operate as described herein.In other embodiments, the processors can comprise controller circuitry,processor circuitry, processors, general purpose single-chip ormulti-chip microprocessors, digital signal processors, embeddedmicroprocessors, microcontrollers and the like. The memory 234 cancomprise one or more logical and/or physical data storage systems forstoring data and applications used by the processor 220 and the programlogic.

In an embodiment, programming may include day-light harvesting, localdevice timers, macros, and automatic LED brightness control to preventdamage to the LEDs if ambient temperature conditions put them at risk.In an embodiment, the LED lighting module 200 comprises internaltemperature sensing that can be used as a network-based remotetemperature sensor when device-generated heat is taken into account.

In other embodiments, the programming may include processes to determinewhether to simultaneous transmit or retransmit messages over thepowerline, via RF and using light modulation, or to determine apreferred one of the powerline, RF and light modulation physical layersfor message transmission/retransmission. In a further embodiment, theprogramming may a process to determine from which physical layer themajority of message traffic is on, and to determine which physical layer(PL, RF, light modulation) to transmit/retransmit messages to increasemessage reception by the intended recipient device.

Powerline (PL) Communications

The LED lighting module 200 uses binary phase-shift keying (BPSK)networking to communicate to other devices over the power line. Inanother embodiment, the LED lighting module 200 uses binary phase-shiftkeying (BPSK) simulcast mesh networking to communicate to other devicesover the power line.

In other embodiments, other encoding schemes, such as return to zero(RZ), Nonreturn to Zero-Level (NRZ-L), Nonreturn to Zero Inverted(NRZI), Bipolar Alternate Mark Inversion (AMI), Pseudoternary,differential Manchester, Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK), Phase ShiftKeying (PSK), and the like, could be used.

The powerline communication circuitry comprises a zero crossing detector216 and a powerline signaling coupler 218. The zero crossing detector216 determines when the alternating current line voltage waveform is ata zero crossing. The powerline signaling coupler 218 encodes a messageusing BPSK onto a carrier signal or decodes a BPSK message from thecarrier signal based at least in part on the timing provided by the zerocrossing detector 216.

To transmit a powerline message, the processor 210 sends the messagedata to the powerline coupling circuitry 218 which encodes the datausing BPSK onto a carrier signal which is sent over a portion of thepower line signal at the appropriate time as determined by the zerocrossing detector 216. To receive a powerline message, the powerlinecoupling circuitry 218 receives the BPSK data encoded powerline signalfrom the power line 236. The powerline signaling coupler 218 decodes theBPSK data from the carrier signal based at least in part on the timingprovided by the zero crossing detector 216. The powerline signalingcoupler 218 sends the data to the processor 210 for processing.

In an embodiment the carrier signal frequency is preferableapproximately 131.65 KHz. In another embodiment, the carrier signalfrequency is between approximately 120 KHz and approximately 140 KHz. Ina further embodiment, the carrier signal frequency is approximately 110KHz to approximately 150 KHz. In a yet further embodiment, the carriersignal frequency is approximately 100 KHZ to approximately 120 KHz. Inother embodiments the carrier signal frequency is less than 100 KHz. Infurther embodiments, the carrier signal frequency is greater than 200KHz.

The power line communications work well in environments where RF andlight modulation communications fail. In an embodiment, the power linesignaling coupler 218 provides an inexpensive tie to the line voltage,while the zero-crossing detection circuit 216 provides an over-allnetwork synchronization to the AC mains.

Radio Frequency (RF) Communications

The RF communications circuit 220 uses narrow band frequency shiftkeying (FSK) communications. The processor 210 sends message data to theRF communications circuitry 220, where the data is encoded using FSKonto a baseband signal, which is up converted and transmitted fromantenna 222 to other devices on the network 100. In addition, theantenna 222 receives RF signals which are down converted to a basebandFSK encoded signal and decoded by the RF communications circuitry 220.The processor circuitry 210 receives the decoded message data andprocesses the message.

Light Modulation Communications

The light modulation communication circuitry 224 comprises a visiblelight transceiver and includes LED driver circuitry 226 and one or moreLEDs 228 configured to transmit messages optically. The modulationcircuitry 224 further includes an optical sensor 232 and opticalreceiver circuitry 230 configured to receive messages optically. Thedrive circuit 226 and the LEDs 228 have very fast ON/OFF switching timesallowing for pulse-width modulation (PWM) control or other modulationtechniques. In an embodiment, continuous mains power enables the pulsewidth modulation output to the LEDs 228 as a constant current source.

Dimmable control of the LED illumination device 200 may be accomplishedusing medium and high frequency pulse width modulation. Modulationcontrol is adjusted by the processor circuitry 220 to send messageswithout interrupting the illumination mission. Because dimming isactuated via commands, a message may contain a specific digital leveland ramp or fade rate that is highly consistent from LED illuminationdevice to the next.

To transmit a light modulated message, the processor 220 sends messagedata to the LED driver circuitry 226 to drive the LEDs 228 to producemodulated light encoding the message. To receive light modulatedmessages, the modulated light is received by the optical sensor 232,such as an avalanche photodiode. The resulting electrical signal isreceived by the optical receiver 230 which decodes the message from theelectrical signal and sends the message to the processor 220 forprocessing.

In an embodiment, the light modulation circuitry 224 uses the sameencoding protocol, such as BPSK, for example, and the same carriersignal as the powerline signaling described above. In an embodiment, thetiming and the signaling for the light modulation communications may bethe same as that used for the powerline communications. Advantageously,the BPSK signaling and bit transitions at the carrier signal frequencydescribed above with respect to the powerline communications do notcause visually detectable flicker in the LED light output. Further, suchencoded messages support pulse width modulation (PWM) dimming as well asembedding phase shift data.

In an embodiment, messages may be sent between LED lighting devices 200when bulb operation includes modulation pauses in output for messagereception. In another embodiment, messages may be sent between LEDlighting devices 200 simultaneously by using alternate light sensors232.

In another embodiment, the messages are encoded using binary phase shiftkeying (BPSK) on an approximately 131.65 KHz carrier signal modulatedonto the light from the LEDs. In an embodiment, the light modulationcircuitry 224 uses the same encoding protocol, such as BPSK, forexample, and the same carrier signal as the powerline signalingdescribed above. In an embodiment, the timing and the signaling for thelight modulation communications may be the same as that used for thepowerline communications. Advantageously, the BPSK signaling and bittransitions at the carrier signal frequency described above with respectto the powerline communications do not cause visually detectable flickerin the LED light output. Further, such encoded messages support pulsewidth modulation (PWM) dimming as well as embedding phase shift data.

In an embodiment, the LED lighting device 200 replaces conventionalillumination sources such as a common screw-in type light bulb. LEDlighting devices 200 can provide lighting solutions over a range ofdifferent form factors and particularly with those that include metalhousings surrounding most of a bulb which results in shielding RFcommunications. This is particularly common in recessed ceiling lightfixtures. Form factors such as A19, standard screw-in type incandescentlight bulb, a fluorescent tube, or other common replaceable illuminationelements can be used. Examples of other form factors are the A series,the B series, the C-7/F series, the G series, the P-25/ps-35 series, theBR series, the R series, the RP-11/S series, the Par series, the Tseries, and the like.

A user can turn on specific LED lighting devices 200 helpful for someactivities in a room or area while not intruding on other activities.For instance, one portion of a room may have lights that are dimmedwhile another portion of the room may have lights that are at a higherlevel of output. Individual light bulb control is beneficial for accentlighting such as for art objects, or for up-lighting artistic effects.

In an embodiment, the LED illumination module 200 comprises a simulcastmesh dimmable Insteon® illumination source which is referred to usingthe term “Insteon bulb” which uses Insteon® technology as defined inU.S. Pat. Nos. 7,345,998 and 8,081,649 which are hereby incorporated byreference herein in their entireties. The Insteon bulb propagatesmessages using wireless radio frequency broadcasting, power wiringconduction, and relatively high frequency pulse width modulated visiblelight. The precise control in brightness that is possible with an LEDenables a light output (illumination) to be used as a communicationsource that is hidden within the visible illuminating light outputitself. The Insteon bulb uses power lines and radio frequencytransmission to send and receive messages efficiently to all otherInsteon bulbs simultaneously.

The communication network 100 may function using radio communicationsonly, power line communications only, light modulation communicationsonly, any two simultaneously, all three simultaneously, in a sequence oftwo or more, or in an intelligently determined hierarchy. This creates asignificant advantage, in that, alone, one transmission medium may failto meet a particular objective while simulcasting over two or more mediamay succeed.

Referring to FIG. 1, devices 114-124 that use two or more of thepowerline, RF, and modulation communication media or layers solve asignificant problem experienced by devices that only communicate via thepowerline, such as device 112. Powerline signals on opposite powerlinephases 10 and 11 are severely attenuated because there is no directcircuit connection for them to travel over. Using devices capable ofcommunicating over two or more of the communication layers solves thepowerline phase coupling problem whenever such devices are connected onopposite powerline phases.

As shown in FIG. 1, LED lighting device 114 is installed on powerlinephase 1 110 and device 124 is installed on powerline phase 2 128. LEDlighting device 114 can communicate via power line with devices 116, 118on powerline phase 1 110, but it can also communicate via power linewith device 124 on powerline phase 2 128 because it can communicateusing RF signaling or light modulation with device 122, which in turn isdirectly connected to powerline phase 2 128. The dashed circlerepresents the RF range of device 122. Direct RF paths between devices114 to 124 (1 hop), or indirect paths using 122 and 124 (2 hops) allowmessages to propagate between the powerline phases.

Each device 112-126 is configured to repeat messages to others of thedevices 112-126 on the network 100. In an embodiment, each device112-126 is capable of repeating messages, using the protocols asdescribed herein. Further, the devices 112-126 are peers, meaning thatany device can act as a master (sending messages), slave (receivingmessages), or repeater (relaying messages). Adding more devicesconfigured to communicate over more than one physical layer increasesthe number of available pathways for messages to travel. Path diversityresults in a higher probability that a message will arrive at itsintended destination.

For example, RF device 120 desires to send a message to device 114, butdevice 114 is out of range. The message will still get through, however,because devices within range of device 120, such as devices 112, 116,118 will receive the message and repeat it to other devices within theirrespective ranges. There are many ways for a message to travel: device120 to 118 to 114 (2 hops), device 120 to 112 to 118 to 114 (3 hops),device 120 to 116 to 112 to 1118 to 114 (4 hops) are some examples.

Unless there is a limit on the number of hops that a message may take toreach its final destination, messages might propagate forever within thenetwork 100 in a nested series of recurring loops. Network saturation byrepeating messages is known as a “data storm.” The message protocolavoids this problem by limiting the maximum number of hops an individualmessage may take to some small number, such as, for example, four. Inother embodiments, the number of hops is limited to less than 4. Inother embodiments, the number of hops is limited to a number greaterthan 4 and less than 10.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating message retransmission within thecommunication network 100. In order to improve network reliability, theLED lighting devices 200 retransmit messages intended for other deviceson the network 100. This increases the range that the message can travelto reach its intended device recipient.

However, to avoid endless repetition data storms, in an embodiment,messages can be retransmitted a maximum of three times. In otherembodiments, the number of times a message can be retransmitted is lessthan 3. In further embodiments, the number of times a message can beretransmitted is greater than 3. The larger the number ofretransmissions, however, the longer the message will take to complete.

Embodiments comprise a pattern of transmissions, retransmissions, andacknowledgements that occurs when messages are sent. Message fields,such as Max Hops and Hops Left manage message retransmission. In anembodiment, messages originate with the 2-bit Max Hops field set to avalue of 0, 1, 2, or 3, and the 2-bit Hops Left field set to the samevalue. A Max Hops value of zero tells other devices within range not toretransmit the message. A higher Max Hops value tells devices receivingthe message to retransmit it depending on the Hops Left field. If theHops Left value is one or more, the receiving device decrements the HopsLeft value by one, then retransmits the message with the new Hops Leftvalue. Devices 200 that receive a message with a Hops Left value of zerowill not retransmit that message. Also, a device 200 that is theintended recipient of a message will not retransmit the message,regardless of the Hops Left value.

In other words, Max Hops is the maximum retransmissions allowed. Allmessages “hop” at least once, so the value in the Max Hops field is oneless than the number of times a message actually hops from one device toanother. In embodiments where the maximum value in this field is three,there can be four actual hops, comprising the original transmission andthree retransmissions. Four hops can span a chain of five devices. Thissituation is shown schematically in FIG. 3.

FIG. 4A illustrates a process 400 to receive messages within thecommunication network 100. The flowchart in FIG. 4A shows how the LEDdevice 200 receives messages and determines whether to retransmit themor process them. At step 710, the device 200 receives a message viapowerline, RF or light modulation.

At step 715, the process 400 determines whether the device 200 needs toprocess the received message. The device 200 processes Direct messageswhen the device 200 is the addressee, Group Broadcast messages when thedevice 200 is a member of the group, and all Broadcast messages.

If the received message is a Direct message intended for the device 200,a Group Broadcast message where the device 200 is a group member, or aBroadcast message, the process 400 moves to step 740. At step 740, thedevice 200 processes the received message.

At step 745, the process 400 determines whether the received message isa Group Broadcast message or one of a Direct message and Directgroup-cleanup message. If the message is a Direct or DirectGroup-cleanup message, the process moves to step 750. At step 750, thedevice 200 sends an acknowledge (ACK) or a negative acknowledge (NAK)message back to the message originator in step 750 and ends the task atstep 755.

In an embodiment, the process 400 simultaneously sends the ACK/NAKmessage over the powerline, via RF, and via light modulation. In anotherembodiment, the process 400 sends the ACK/NAK message over thepowerline, via RF, and via light modulation. In another embodiment, theprocess 400 intelligently selects which physical layer (power line, RF,light modulation) to use for ACK/NAK message transmission. In a furtherembodiment, the process 400 sequentially sends the ACK/NAK message usinga different physical layer for each subsequent retransmission.

If at step 745, the process 400 determines that the message is aBroadcast or Group Broadcast message, the process 400 moves to step 720.If, at step 715, the process 400 determines that the device 200 does notneed to process the received message, the process 400 also moves to step720. At step 720 the process 400 determines whether the message shouldbe retransmitted.

At step 720, the Max Hops bit field of the Message Flags byte is tested.If the Max Hops value is zero, process 400 moves to step 755, where itis done. If the Max Hops filed is not zero, the process moves to step725, where the Hops Left filed is tested.

If there are zero Hops Left, the process 400 moves to step 755, where itis finished. If the Hops Left field in not zero, the process 400 movesto step 730, where the process decrements the Hops Left value by one.

At step 735, the process 400 retransmits the message. In an embodiment,the process 400 simultaneously retransmits the message over the powerline, via RF, and via light modulation. In another embodiment, theprocess 400 retransmits the message over the power line, via RF, and vialight modulation. In another embodiment, the process 400 intelligentlyselects which physical layer (PL, RF, light modulation) to use formessage retransmission. In a further embodiment, the process 400sequentially retransmits the message using a different physical layerfor each subsequent retransmission.

FIG. 4B illustrates an embodiment of the process at step 735 toretransmit messages within the communication network 100 usingtransmission media in any order.

At step 760, the process 735 determines if the message was transmittedusing powerline communications. If the message had previously beentransmitted over the power line, at step 770, the process 400retransmits the message using one or more of radio frequency signalingand light modulation signaling.

If the message had not been previously transmitted over the power line,the process 735 checks whether the message had previously beentransmitted using radio frequency and/or light modulation signaling. Atstep 775, the process 735 determines if the message was transmittedusing radio frequency communications. At step 785, if the message hadpreviously been transmitted using radio frequency communications, theprocess 735 retransmits the message using one or more of powerlinesignaling and light modulation signaling.

At step 795, if the message had previously been transmitted usingneither powerline signaling nor radio frequency signaling, the process735 retransmits the message using one or more of radio frequencysignaling and light modulation signaling.

Thus, the process 735 sequences through hierarchies of the communicationmedia. In an embodiment, this could be implemented using a message bitrepresenting a Media Counter to sequence through the physical layersused to send a transmission. Different logic could be used to determinewhich combinations of media are used to retransmit the message.

FIG. 4C illustrates a process 450 to determine which transmission mediumto retransmit messages based at least in part on network traffic. If thetraffic on a particular physical layer is too great, messages on thatphysical layer will be delayed. Instead of retransmitting the messagesimultaneously on all of the physical layers, including the layer withtoo much traffic, the LED illumination device 200 transmits orretransmits the message using the others of the physical layers.

Further, in high density living areas, such as multi-dwelling units, theRF signals may propagate beyond the boundaries of the dwelling. Suchsituations may limit the number of radio frequency retransmissions andthe LED illumination unit 200 intelligently forces the use of radiofrequency and light modulation signaling.

Referring to FIG. 4C, at step 410, the process 450 looks at the messagetraffic on the communication network 100. At step 414, the powerlinetraffic is compared to a powerline traffic threshold. If the amount ofmessage traffic on the network on the power line layer is greater thanthe threshold, the process 400 transmits or retransmits the messageusing one or more of RF signaling and light modulation signaling at step416. If the threshold is not met, the process 450 finishes at step 430.

At step 418, the light modulation traffic is compared to a lightmodulation traffic threshold. If the amount of light modulation messagetraffic on the network is greater than the threshold, the process 450transmits or retransmits the message using one or more of RF signalingand PL signaling at step 420. If the light modulation threshold is notmet, the process 400 finishes at step 430.

At step 422, the process 450 determines if the majority of radiofrequency message traffic is from devices with the network 100. In anembodiment, the process 400 determines whether majority of radiofrequency message traffic is from devices with the network by comparingdevice addresses to a list of network device addresses.

If the radio frequency message traffic is from devices outside thenetwork 100, then the LED devices 200 may also be transmitting todevices 200 outside of the network 100. At step 424, the process 450reduces the number of messages transmitted using radio frequencysignaling. In an embodiment, the process 450 sets a bit in the messagedata to reduce or stop radio frequency messaging.

If the majority of radio frequency message traffic is from deviceswithin the network 100, the process 450 moves to step 426. At step 426,the radio frequency traffic is compared to a radio frequency trafficthreshold. If the amount of radio frequency message traffic on thenetwork is greater than the radio frequency traffic threshold, theprocess 450 transmits or retransmits the message using one or more ofpowerline signaling and light modulation signaling at step 428. If theradio frequency traffic threshold is not met, the process 450 finishesat step 430.

Thus, variations in the logic above could produce different signalingorders based on message traffic criteria. For example, if the thresholdis exceeded for powerline traffic, the process could transmit the codedmessages only via light modulation. If the threshold is exceeded forradio frequency traffic, the process 450 could transmit the codedmessages only via power line. All permutations of power line, radiofrequency, and light wave modulation signaling are possible.

FIG. 5 illustrates a process 500 to transmit messages to multiplerecipient devices in a group within the communication network 100. Groupmembership is stored in a database in the device 200 following aprevious enrollment process. At step 810 the device 200 first sends aGroup Broadcast message intended for all members of a given group. TheMessage Type field in the Message Flags byte is set to signify a GroupBroadcast message, and the To Address field is set to the group number,which can range from 0 to 255. The device 200 transmits the messageusing at least one of powerline, radio frequency, and light modulation.In an embodiment, the device 200 transmits the message using all ofpowerline, radio frequency, and light modulation.

Following the Group Broadcast message, the transmitting device 200 sendsa Direct Group-cleanup message individually to each member of the groupin its database. At step 815 the device 200 first sets the message ToAddress to that of the first member of the group, then it sends a DirectGroup-cleanup message to that addressee at step 820. If Group-cleanupmessages have been sent to every member of the group, as determined atstep 825, transmission is finished at step 835. Otherwise, the devicesets the message To Address to that of the next member of the group andsends the next Group-cleanup message to that addressee at step 820.

FIG. 6 illustrates a process 600 to transmit direct messages withretries to a device 200 within the communication network 100. Directmessages can be retried multiple times if an expected ACK is notreceived from the addressee. The process begins at step 910.

At step 915, the device 200 sends a Direct or a Direct Group-cleanupmessage to an addressee. At step 920 the device 200 waits for anAcknowledge message from the addressee. If at step 925 an Acknowledgemessage is received and it contains an ACK with the expected status, theprocess is finished at step 945.

If at step 925 an Acknowledge message is not received, or if it is notsatisfactory, a Retry Counter is tested at step 930. If the maximumnumber of retries has already been attempted, the process fails at step945. In an embodiment, devices 200 default to a maximum number ofretries of five. If fewer than five retries have been tried at step 930the device 200 increments its Retry Counter at step 935. At step 940 thedevice 200 will also increment the Max Hops field in the Message Flagsbyte, up to a maximum of three, in an attempt to achieve greater rangefor the message by retransmitting it more times by more devices. Themessage is sent again at step 915.

The devices 200 comprise hardware and firmware that enable the devices200 to send and receive messages. FIG. 7 is a block diagram of the LEDillumination device 200 illustrating the overall flow of informationrelated to sending and receiving messages. Received signals 1510 comefrom the powerline, via radio frequency, or via light modulation. Signalconditioning circuitry 1515 processes the raw signal and converts itinto a digital bitstream. Message receiver firmware 1520 processes thebitstream as required and places the message payload data into a buffer1525 which is available to the application running on the device 200.The message controller 1550 tells the application that data is availableusing control flags 1555.

To send a message, the application places message data in a buffer 1545,then tells the message controller 1550 to send the message using controlflags 1555. The message transmitter firmware 1540 processes the messageinto a raw bitstream, which it feeds to the transmitter section of themodem 1535. The modem transmitter sends the bitstream as a powerline,radio frequency signal, or light modulation signal 1530.

FIG. 8 shows message transmitter 1540 of FIG. 7 in greater detail andillustrates the device 200 sending a message on the powerline. Theapplication first composes a message 1610 to be sent, excluding the CRCbyte, and puts the message data in the transmit buffer 1615. Theapplication then tells the transmit controller 1625 to send the messageby setting appropriate control flags 1620. The transmit controller 1625packetizes the message data by using multiplexer 1635 to put sync bitsand a start code from generator 1630 at the beginning of a packetfollowed by data shifted out of the first-in first-out (FIFO) transmitbuffer 1615.

As the message data is shifted out of FIFO 1615, a cyclic redundancycheck (CRC) generator 1630 calculates the CRC byte, which is appended tothe bitstream by multiplexer 1635 as the last byte in the last packet ofthe message. The bitstream is buffered in a shift register 1640 andclocked out in phase with the powerline zero crossings detected by zerocrossing detector 1645. The BPSK modulator 1655 shifts the phase of the131.65 KHz carrier from carrier generator 1650 by 180 degrees forzero-bits, and leaves the carrier unmodulated for one-bits. Note thatthe phase is shifted gradually over one carrier period as disclosed inconjunction with FIG. 11. Finally, the modulated carrier signal isapplied to the powerline by the modem transmit circuitry 1535 of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 shows message receiver 1520 of FIG. 7 in greater detail andillustrates the device 200 receiving a message from the powerline. Themodem receive circuitry 1515 of FIG. 7 conditions the signal on thepowerline and transforms it into a digital data stream that the firmwarein FIG. 9 processes to retrieve messages. Raw data 1710 from thepowerline is typically very noisy, because the received signal can havean amplitude as low as a only few millivolts, and the powerline oftencarries high-energy noise spikes or other noise of its own. Therefore,in a preferred embodiment, a Costas phase locked loop (PLL) 1720,implemented in firmware, is used to find the BPSK signal within thenoise. Costas PLLs, well known in the art, phase-lock to a signal bothin phase and in quadrature. The phase-lock detector 1725 provides oneinput to the window timer 1745, which also receives a zero crossingsignal 1750 and an indication that a start code in a packet has beenfound by start code detector 1740.

Whether it is phase-locked or not, the Costas PLL 1720 sends data to thebit sync detector 1730. When the sync bits of alternating ones and zerosat the beginning of a packet arrive, the bit sync detector 1730 will beable to recover a bit clock, which it uses to shift data into data shiftregister 1735. The start code detector 1740 looks for the start codefollowing the sync bits and outputs a detect signal to the window timer1745 after it has found one. The window timer 1745 determines that avalid packet is being received when the data stream begins 800microseconds before the powerline zero.

FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary 131.65 KHz powerline carrier signalwith alternating BPSK bit modulation. Each bit uses ten cycles ofcarrier. Bit 1110, interpreted as a one, begins with a positive-goingcarrier cycle. Bit 2 1120, interpreted as a zero, begins with anegative-going carrier cycle. Bit 3 1130, begins with a positive-goingcarrier cycle, so it is interpreted as a one. Note that the sense of thebit interpretations is arbitrary. That is, ones and zeros could bereversed as long as the interpretation is consistent. Phase transitionsonly occur when a bitstream changes from a zero to a one or from a oneto a zero. A one followed by another one, or a zero followed by anotherzero, will not cause a phase transition. This type of coding is known asNRZ, or nonreturn to zero.

FIG. 10 shows abrupt phase transitions of 180 degrees at the bitboundaries 1115 and 1125. Abrupt phase transitions introduce troublesomehigh-frequency components into the signal's spectrum. Phase-lockeddetectors can have trouble tracking such a signal. To solve thisproblem, the powerline encoding process uses a gradual phase change toreduce the unwanted frequency components.

FIG. 11 illustrates the powerline BPSK signal of FIG. 10 with gradualphase shifting of the transitions. The transmitter introduces the phasechange by inserting 1.5 cycles of carrier at 1.5 times the 131.65 KHzfrequency. Thus, in the time taken by one cycle of 131.65 KHz, threehalf-cycles of carrier will have occurred, so the phase of the carrieris reversed at the end of the period due to the odd number ofhalf-cycles. Note the smooth transitions 1115 and 1125.

In an embodiment, the powerline packets comprise 24 bits. Since a bittakes ten cycles of 131.65 KHz carrier, there are 240 cycles of carrierin a packet, meaning that a packet lasts 1.823 milliseconds. Thepowerline environment is notorious for uncontrolled noise, especiallyhigh-amplitude spikes caused by motors, dimmers and compact fluorescentlighting. This noise is minimal during the time that the current on thepowerline reverses direction, a time known as the powerline zerocrossing. Therefore, the packets are transmitted near the zero crossing.

FIG. 12 illustrates powerline signaling applied to the power line.Powerline cycle 1205 possesses two zero crossings 1210 and 1215. Apacket 1220 is at zero crossing 1210 and a second packet 1225 is at zerocrossing 1215. In an embodiment, the packets 1210, 1215 begin 800microseconds before a zero crossing and last until 1023 microsecondsafter the zero crossing.

In some embodiments, the powerline transmission process waits for one ortwo additional zero crossings after sending a message to allow time forpotential RF retransmission of the message by devices 200.

FIG. 13 illustrates an exemplary series of five-packet standard messages1310 being sent on the powerline signal 1305. In an embodiment, thepowerline transmission process waits for at least one zero crossing 1320after each standard packet before sending another packet. FIG. 14illustrates an exemplary series of eleven-packet extended messages 1330being sent on the powerline signal 1305. In another embodiment, thepowerline transmission process waits for at least two zero crossings1340 after each extended packet before sending another packet. In otherembodiments, the powerline transmission process does not wait for extrazero crossings before sending another packet.

In some embodiments, standard messages contain 120 raw data bits and usesix zero crossings, or 50 milliseconds to send. In some embodiments,extended messages contain 264 raw data bits and use thirteen zerocrossings, or 108.33 milliseconds to send. Therefore, the actual rawbitrate is 2,400 bits per second for standard messages, and 2,437 bitsper second for extended messages, instead of the 2880 bits per secondthe bitrate would be without waiting for the extra zero crossings.

In some embodiments, standard messages contain 9 bytes (72 bits) ofusable data, not counting packet sync and start code bytes, nor themessage CRC byte. In some embodiments, extended messages contain 23bytes (184 bits) of usable data using the same criteria. Therefore, thebitrates for usable data are further reduced to 1440 bits per second forstandard messages and 1698 bits per second for extended messages.Counting only the 14 bytes (112 bits) of User Data in extended messages,the User Data bitrate is 1034 bits per second.

The LED devices 200 can send and receive the same messages that appearon the powerline using radio frequency signaling. Unlike powerlinemessages, however, messages sent by radio frequency are not broken upinto smaller packets sent at powerline zero crossings, but instead aresent whole. As with power line, in an embodiment, there are two radiofrequency message lengths: standard 10-byte messages and extended24-byte messages.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating the device 200 transmitting amessage using radio frequency signaling. The steps are similar to thosefor sending powerline messages in FIG. 8, except that radio frequencymessages are sent all at once in a single packet. In FIG. 15, processor1925 composes a message to send, excluding the CRC byte, and stores themessage data into transmit buffer 1915. The processor 1925 usesmultiplexer 1935 to add sync bits and a start code from generator 1930at the beginning of the radio frequency message followed by data shiftedout of the first-in first-out (FIFO) transmit buffer 1915.

As the message data is shifted out of FIFO 1915, a CRC generator 1930calculates the CRC byte, which is appended to the bitstream bymultiplexer 1935 as the last byte of the message. The bitstream isbuffered in a shift register 1940 and clocked out to the RF transceiver1955. The RF transceiver 1955 generates an RF carrier, translates thebits in the message into Manchester-encoded symbols, FM modulates thecarrier with the symbol stream, and transmits the resulting RF signalusing antenna 1960. In a preferred embodiment, the RF transceiver 1955is a single-chip hardware device and the other blocks in the figure areimplemented in firmware running on the processor 1925.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating the device 200 receiving amessage from the radio frequency signaling. The steps are similar tothose for receiving powerline messages given in FIG. 9, except thatradio frequency messages are sent all at once in a single packet. InFIG. 16, the RF transceiver 2015 receives an RF transmission fromantenna 2010 and FM demodulates it to recover the baseband Manchestersymbols. The sync bits at the beginning of the message allow thetransceiver to recover a bit clock, which it uses to recover the databits from the Manchester symbols. The transceiver outputs the bit clockand the recovered data bits to shift register 2020, which accumulatesthe bitstream in the message.

The start code detector 2025 looks for the start code following the syncbits at the beginning of the message and outputs a detect signal 2060 tothe processor 2065 after it has found one. The start detect flag 2060enables the receive buffer controller 2030 to begin accumulating messagedata from shift register 2020 into the FIFO receive buffer 2035. Thestorage controller 2030 insures that the FIFO 2035 only stores the databytes in a message, and not the sync bits or start code. It stores 10bytes for a standard message and 24 for an extended message, byinspecting the Extended Message bit in the Message Flags byte.

When the correct number of bytes has been accumulated, a HaveMsg flag2055 is set to indicate a message has been received. The CRC checker2040 computes a CRC on the received data and compares it to the CRC inthe received message. If they match, the CRC OK flag 2045 is set. Whenthe HaveMsg flag 2055 and the CRC OK flag 2045 are both set, the messagedata is ready to be sent to processor 2065. In a preferred embodiment,the RF transceiver 2015 is a single-chip hardware device and the otherblocks in the figure are implemented in firmware running on theprocessor 2065.

FIG. 17 is a table 1700 of exemplary specifications for RF signalingwithin the communication network 100. In an embodiment, the centerfrequency lies in the band of approximately 902 to 924 MHz, which ispermitted for non-licensed operation in the United States. In certainembodiments, the center frequency is approximately 915 MHz. Each bit isManchester encoded, meaning that two symbols are sent for each bit. Aone-symbol followed by a zero-symbol designates a one-bit, and azero-symbol followed by a one-symbol designates a zero-bit.

Symbols are modulated onto the carrier using frequency-shift keying(FSK), where a zero-symbol modulates the carrier half the FSK deviationfrequency downward and a one-symbol modulates the carrier half the FSKdeviation frequency upward. The FSK deviation frequency is approximately64 KHz. In other embodiments, the FSK deviation frequency is betweenapproximately 100 KHz and 200 KHz. In other embodiments the FSKdeviation frequency is less than 64 KHz. In further embodiment, the FSKdeviation frequency is greater than 200 KHz. Symbols are modulated ontothe carrier at 38,400 symbols per second, resulting in a raw data rataof half that, or 19,200 bits per second. The typical range forfree-space reception is 150 feet, which is reduced in the presence ofwalls and other RF energy absorbers.

In other embodiments, other encoding schemes, such as return to zero(RZ), Nonreturn to Zero-Level (NRZ-L), Nonreturn to Zero Inverted(NRZI), Bipolar Alternate Mark Inversion (AMI), Pseudoternary,differential Manchester, Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK), Phase ShiftKeying (PSK), and the like, could be used.

Devices 200 transmit data with the most-significant bit sent first. Inan embodiment, RF messages begin with two sync bytes comprising AAAA inhexadecimal, followed by a start code byte of C3 in hexadecimal. Tendata bytes follow in standard messages, or twenty-four data bytes inextended messages. The last data byte in a message is a CRC over thedata bytes as disclosed above.

It takes 5.417 milliseconds to send a 104-bit standard message, and11.250 milliseconds to send a 216-bit extended message. Zero crossingson the powerline occur every 8.333 milliseconds, so a standard RFmessage can be sent during one powerline half-cycle and an extended RFmessage can be sent during two powerline half-cycles. The waiting timesafter sending powerline messages, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, are toallow sufficient time for devices 200 to retransmit a powerline message.

The LED devices 200 can send and receive the same messages that appearon the powerline and via RF using light modulation signaling. Unlikepowerline messages, however, messages sent by light modulation are notbroken up into smaller packets sent at powerline zero crossings, butinstead are sent whole, similar to the messages sent by RF. As withpowerline and RF, in an embodiment, there are two light modulationmessage lengths: standard 10-byte messages and extended 24-bytemessages.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram illustrating exemplary circuitry 201 totransmit messages via modulation of light from the LED illuminationdevice 200. The steps for transmitting are similar to those for sendingRF messages, in that the messages are sent all at once in a singlepacket.

Processor 2125 composes a message to send, excluding the CRC byte, andstores the message data into a transmit buffer 2115. The processor 2125uses a multiplexer 1935 to add sync bits and a start code from agenerator 2130 at the beginning of the light modulation message followedby data shifted out of a first-in first-out (FIFO) transmit buffer 2115.

As the message data is shifted out of the FIFO 2115, a CRC generator2130 calculates the CRC byte, which is appended to the bitstream by themultiplexer 2135 as the last byte of the message. The bitstream isbuffered in a shift register 2140 and clocked out to the LED driver2120. In an embodiment, the LED driver 2120 pulse wave modulates thepower signal to the LED array 2125. LED array 2125 emits pulse wavemodulated light which includes the encoded message. In anotherembodiment, the controller 2110 and the LED driver 2120 BPSK encode themessage onto a carrier signal, such as the carrier signal used for thepower line signaling, and modulate the carrier signal onto the lightemitted from the LED array 2145.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram illustrating exemplary circuitry 201 toreceive messages via modulation of light from an LED illumination device200. The steps for receiving are similar to those for sending RFmessages, in that the messages are received all at once in a singlepacket.

Optical sensor 2205 receives data encoded modulated light and convertsthe data encoded modulated light to a modulated electrical signal whichis received by a photo detector demodulator 2210. The photo detectordemodulator 2210 demodulates the electrical signal to recover the datasymbols.

Controller 2215 receives the bitstream. The sync bits at the beginningof the message allow the controller 2215 to recover a bit clock, whichit uses to recover the data bits from the symbols. The controller 2215outputs the bit clock and the recovered data bits to a shift register2220, which accumulates the bitstream in the message.

Similar to the RF signaling circuitry, a start code detector 2225 looksfor the start code following the sync bits at the beginning of themessage and outputs a detect signal 2260 to the processor 2265 after ithas found one. The start detect flag 2265 enables a receive buffercontroller 2230 to begin accumulating message data from shift register2220 into a FIFO receive buffer 2235. A storage controller 2230 insuresthat the FIFO 2235 only stores the data bytes in a message, and not thesync bits or start code. It stores 10 bytes for a standard message and24 for an extended message, by inspecting the Extended Message bit inthe Message Flags byte.

When the correct number of bytes has been accumulated, a HaveMsg flag2255 is set to indicate a message has been received. A CRC checker 2240computes a CRC on the received data and compares it to the CRC in thereceived message. If they match, a CRC OK flag 2245 is set. When theHaveMsg flag 2255 and the CRC OK flag 2265 are both set, the messagedata is ready to be sent to processor 2265.

FIG. 20A and 20B are an exemplary schematic diagram of an LEDillumination device 2300 configured to transmit and receive messagesover the communication network 100 via powerline signaling and RFsignaling, and transmit modulated light encoded messages. In anembodiment, the one or more of the circuit stages and circuit elementsof FIGS. 20A and 20B can be incorporated within the glass envelope ofthe illumination device 2300. In the illustrated embodiment, theillumination device 2300 comprises a power supply and power linecommunication (PLC) interface components.

The power supply comprises a 120 VAC to 20 V non-isolated power supply2310 and a 20 V to 3.3 V switch power supply 2320 configured to generatevoltages used by the circuitry and the LED array. The power supply 2310comprises a bridge rectifier and a power switcher, such as, for examplean MB4S from Fairchild Semiconductor, Inc. and a LNK306 from PowerIntegrations, Inc. respectively, and the like. The power supply 2320comprises a buck boost switching regulator, such as, for example,MC33063ADR from Texas Instruments, Inc., and the like.

The power line communication (PLC) interface components comprise apowerline transceiver circuit 2330, a powerline switching coupler 2340,and a zero crossing detector 2350. The powerline transceiver circuit2330 sends powerline data to the controller 2370. The powerlineswitching coupler 2340 receives the line voltage. In an embodiment, thepowerline switching coupler 2340 comprises a transformer such as, forexample, an intermediate frequency transformer IFT-7SB-4268-05-LF havingcoil ratios of approximately 11/213.5/64. The zero crossing detector2350 detects the zero crossings of the line voltage. In an embodiment,the zero crossing detector 2350 comprises a comparator, such as, forexample, a LMV321 by Texas Instruments, Inc., and the like.

The illumination device 2300 further comprises a radio circuit 2360, aCPU controller 2370 and memory 2380, an LED driver 2395, and an LEDarray 2390. The radio circuit 2360 provides the RF physical layer andtransmits and receives RF encoded messages. In an embodiment, the radiocircuit 2360 comprises a microcontroller and a transceiver, such as forexample, a PIC16F688 and a MRF49XA-I/ST by Microchip Technology, Inc.,and the like.

The CPU controller 2370 processes the transmit and the receive messages.In an embodiment, the CPU controller comprises a PIC18F25J10-I/ML byMicrochip Technology, Inc., and the like. The memory 2380 associate withthe controller 2370 can be, for example, ROM, RAM, EEPROM, EPROM, andthe like, capable of storing data and programming. In an embodiment, thememory 2380 comprises, for example, a serial EEPROM 24LC32AI/SN byMicrochip Technology, Inc., and the like.

The LED driver 2395 receives message data from the controller 2370drives the LED array 2390 to transmit modulated light with the encodedmessage. In an embodiment, the LED driver comprises, for example, anAL9910 by Diodes, Inc., and the like. The LED array 2390 comprises oneor more LEDs, such as for example, and the like.

The LED lighting module 200 optionally comprises a temperature sensor2385 and a speaker circuit 2397. In an embodiment, the temperaturesensor 2385 can be used to monitor the temperature of the devicecircuitry such that the controller 2370 shuts off the LEDs when thetemperature is too hot. In an embodiment, the speaker 2397 can be usedto notify users of overheating, to provide feedback, such as when a linkwith another device is established, and the like.

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout thedescription and the claims, the words “comprise,” “comprising,” and thelike are to be construed in an inclusive sense, as opposed to anexclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in the sense of“including, but not limited to.” The words “coupled” or connected“, asgenerally used herein, refer to two or more elements that may be eitherdirectly connected, or connected by way of one or more intermediateelements. Additionally, the words “herein,” “above,” “below,” and wordsof similar import, when used in this application, shall refer to thisapplication as a whole and not to any particular portions of thisapplication. Where the context permits, words in the above DetailedDescription using the singular or plural number may also include theplural or singular number respectively. The word “or” in reference to alist of two or more items, that word covers all of the followinginterpretations of the word: any of the items in the list, all of theitems in the list, and any combination of the items in the list.

Moreover, conditional language used herein, such as, among others,“can,” “could,” “might,” “may,” “e.g.,” “for example,” “such as” and thelike, unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understoodwithin the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certainembodiments include, while other embodiments do not include, certainfeatures, elements and/or states. Thus, such conditional language is notgenerally intended to imply that features, elements and/or states are inany way required for one or more embodiments or that one or moreembodiments necessarily include logic for deciding, with or withoutauthor input or prompting, whether these features, elements and/orstates are included or are to be performed in any particular embodiment.

The above detailed description of certain embodiments is not intended tobe exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosedabove. While specific embodiments of, and examples for, the inventionare described above for illustrative purposes, various equivalentmodifications are possible within the scope of the invention, as thoseordinary skilled in the relevant art will recognize. For example, whileprocesses or blocks are presented in a given order, alternativeembodiments may perform routines having steps, or employ systems havingblocks, in a different order, and some processes or blocks may bedeleted, moved, added, subdivided, combined, and/or modified. Each ofthese processes or blocks may be implemented in a variety of differentways. Also, while processes or blocks are at times shown as beingperformed in series, these processes or blocks may instead be performedin parallel, or may be performed at different times.

The teachings of the invention provided herein can be applied to othersystems, not necessarily the systems described above. The elements andacts of the various embodiments described above can be combined toprovide further embodiments.

While certain embodiments of the inventions have been described, theseembodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are notintended to limit the scope of the disclosure. Indeed, the novel methodsand systems described herein may be embodied in a variety of otherforms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in theform of the methods and systems described herein may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit of the disclosure. The accompanying claims andtheir equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications aswould fall within the scope and spirit of the disclosure.

1. (canceled)
 2. A multi-media communication device capable of reactingto and retransmitting messages, the multi-media communication devicecomprising: receiving circuitry configured to receive coded messages ona first communication medium comprising radio signals in free space andon a second communication medium comprising electrically conductedsignals by wire; transmitting circuitry configured to transmit the codedmessages on the first communication medium and on the secondcommunication medium; and processing circuitry configured to determinewhether a first received coded message is received on the firstcommunication medium and on the second communication medium in a firsttime slot and to synchronize retransmissions of the first received codedmessage on the first communication medium and on the secondcommunication medium in a second time slot when the first received codedmessage is not received on both of the first communication medium and onthe second communication medium in the first time slot.
 3. Themulti-media communication device of claim 2 wherein the second time slotis a next time slot after the first time slot.
 4. The multi-mediacommunication device of claim 2 wherein the processing circuitry isfurther configured to determine whether an acknowledgement of the firstreceived coded message by an intended recipient has been received afterretransmitting the first received coded message.
 5. The multi-mediacommunication device of claim 2 wherein synchronizing retransmissions ofthe first received coded message on the first communication medium andon the second communication medium comprises retransmitting in asynchronized time slot on the first communication medium and on thesecond communication medium.
 6. The multi-media communication device ofclaim 2 further comprising light wave modulation/demodulation circuitryconfigured to receive and transmit the coded messages using the lightwave propagated signals in free space.
 7. The multi-media communicationdevice of claim 2 further comprising an enclosure configured to enclosethe receiving circuitry, the transmitting circuitry, and the processingcircuitry.
 8. The multi-media communication device of claim 7 whereinthe enclosure comprises a bulb and a base, the receiving circuitry, thetransmitting circuitry, and the processing circuitry disposed within thebase.
 9. A method of reacting to and retransmitting messages, the methodcomprising: receiving coded messages with electrical circuitry on afirst communication medium comprising radio signals in free space and ona second communication medium comprising electrically conducted signalsby wire; determining with the electrical circuitry whether a firstreceived coded message is received on the first communication medium andon the second communication medium in a first time slot; synchronizingwith the electrical circuitry retransmissions of the first receivedcoded message on the first communication medium and on the secondcommunication medium when the first received coded message is notreceived on both of the first communication medium and on the secondcommunication medium in the first time slot; and synchronouslyretransmitting with the electrical circuitry the first received codedmessage on the first communication medium and on the secondcommunication medium in a second time slot.
 10. The method of claim 9wherein the second time slot is a next time slot after the first timeslot.
 11. The method of claim 9 further comprising determining whetheran acknowledgement of the first received coded message by an intendedrecipient has been received after retransmitting the first receivedcoded message.
 12. The method of claim 9 wherein synchronouslyretransmitting the first received coded message on the firstcommunication medium and on the second communication medium comprisesretransmitting in a synchronized time slot on the first communicationmedium and on the second communication medium.
 13. The method of claim 9further comprising receiving and transmitting the coded messages withlight wave modulation/demodulation circuitry on a third communicationmedium comprising light wave propagated signals in free space.
 14. Themethod of claim 9 further comprising enclosing the electrical circuitryin an enclosure.
 15. The method of claim 14 wherein the enclosurecomprises a bulb and a base, the electrical circuitry disposed withinthe base.
 16. A system to react to and retransmit messages, the systemcomprising: a mesh network configured to transmit and receive codedmessages using powerline signaling and radio frequency (RF) signaling,the powerline signaling comprising message data modulated onto a carriersignal and the modulated carrier signal added to a powerline waveform,the RF signaling comprising the message data modulated onto an RFsignal; a first multi-media communication device comprising firstreceiving circuitry configured to receive the coded messages using theRF signaling and the powerline signaling, first transmitting circuitryconfigured to transmit the coded messages using the RF signaling and thepowerline signaling, and first processing circuitry configured todetermine whether a first received coded message is received using theRF signaling and the powerline signaling in a first time slot and tosynchronize retransmissions of the first received coded message usingthe RF signaling and the powerline signaling for retransmission in asecond time slot; and a second multi-media communication devicecomprising second receiving circuitry configured to receive the codedmessages using the RF signaling and the powerline signaling, secondtransmitting circuitry configured to transmit the coded messages usingthe RF signaling and the powerline signaling, and second processingcircuitry configured to determine whether the first received codedmessage is received using the RF signaling and the powerline signalingin the first time slot and to synchronize retransmissions of the firstreceived coded message using the RF signaling and the powerlinesignaling for retransmission in the second time slot.
 17. The system ofclaim 16 wherein the second time slot is a next time slot after thefirst time slot.
 18. The system of claim 16 wherein synchronizingretransmissions of the first received coded message using the RFsignaling and the powerline signaling comprises retransmitting in asynchronized time slot on the first communication medium and on thesecond communication medium.
 19. The system of claim 16 wherein thefirst multi-media communication device further comprises light wavemodulation/demodulation circuitry configured to receive and transmit thecoded messages using the light wave propagated signals in free space.20. The system of 16 wherein the first multi-media communication devicefurther comprises a bulb and a base, the first receiving circuitry, thefirst transmitting circuitry, and the first processing circuitrydisposed within the base.